


The Needs of One

by a_quick_drink



Category: Alien Outpost
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Injury, M/M, Movie Spoilers, Rare Fandoms, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5556665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_quick_drink/pseuds/a_quick_drink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After almost killing his best friend and brother-in-arms thanks to the aliens' attempt at controlling him, North decides it's finally time to take a leap of faith and let Spears know what he really means to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Needs of One

Feeling something cold and solid against his back, North wasn't much inclined to open his eyes, not after the last time he'd woken in a similar position. He shuddered at the memory of those alien faces hovering over him while he squinted against the overhead light; the trays of cruel looking implements they'd used on him. He remembered being hauled up by rough hands, his front slammed against the stone slab posing as a makeshift table before they strapped him down. He remembered that first bite of metal into the back of his neck; the hot, throbbing pain like nothing he'd ever felt before.

He didn't remember blacking out. He must have, though, because the next time he woke he was back in the hamlet the Heavies had initially drug him to, unable to do anything more than listen to the whispers in his mind. The sinister messages tangled with existing memories, urging him to kill the men he'd entrusted his life to.

Everything after that was a blur.

He flexed his wrist, then lifted his hand, surprised when it moved freely. He wasn't bound, and the inexplicable paralysis he'd once felt no longer weighed him down. All good things, he hoped. Maybe there was some reality behind the most recent dream he'd had of being rescued.

His happiness was short lived, however, when it occurred to him that this was what those goddamned aliens wanted; they'd wanted him to be rescued so he could destroy the outpost from the inside.

His stomach sank.

_He was bait._

Planting his hands on the table, North drew a ragged breath. He needed to get out of here now, before he hurt anyone; before he hurt--

Pushing away the thought, he instead focused on getting himself up, which proved difficult when his entire body felt like a giant exposed nerve, pain shooting through his system with even the slightest movement. Hands pushed at his shoulders, and he finally dared to open his eyes, a modicum of relief easing his anxiety when he saw Wilks' dark eyes looking back at him, concern etching the doc's features.

"Get outta here," North warned. Voice roughened and weak, he hadn't spoken in days. Only screaming, and eventually his throat was too raw for even that.

"You just relax, LT, I ain't going anywhere," Wilks said. North let himself be pushed back down, and Wilks gave his chest a pat before checking vitals. "How you feelin'?"

North groaned. "Like I got hit by a truck."

Nodding, Wilks crossed his arms. "Any weird urges to kill us all in our sleep?" The corner of his mouth ticked up into a smirk though there was no humor in his words.

"I--" North blinked. "Not...anymore." So caught up in trying to get away, he hadn't realized the whispers were gone. All that remained was a constant dull ache that seemed to throb in time with his heartbeat.

Wilks' smirk morphed into a lopsided grin when he held up a chunk of metal for North to see. "What is it?" North asked, taking the talon-shaped object from him. Dark stains of what he suspected was blood remained.

"No idea, but it sure as fuck don't belong in your head." Wilks plucked it from his fingers and tossed it aside. "Cap wants to see ya--you up for that?" he asked, busying himself with removing the IV line from North's hand and helping him sit up. "Should be in a much better mood now that he's done reamin' our asses for disobeyin' orders."

The door burst open then and Spears stormed through. "Get out," he barked at Wilks, who just rolled his eyes at their captain and took his sweet time finishing up. North smiled to himself. Felt good to be home again, even if his family was on the dysfunctional side.

"Today, Wilks." Spears crossed his arms over his chest, biceps straining his rolled-up sleeves. North's breath caught for a split second before he forced himself to look away. Spears'd had that effect on him since the day they'd met years ago, and he'd spent every day since shoving his feelings away where they couldn't ruin things between them.

"Because I totally didn't just save his life," Wilks threw back as he brushed past Spears. "You're welcome, by the way." The door slammed behind him, leaving North and Spears alone in the claustrophobic room.

"Hey," North greeted, mustering the best smile he could manage despite the pain even that simple action caused him. The hardened look in Spears' eyes softened as he moved to North's side, lifting his arms as if to hug North but then lowering them, much to North's dismay.

He supposed Spears was afraid of causing him any further pain, but North wouldn't have minded--he craved the comfort of human touch. Not like Wilks', whose touch hadn't registered in his mind as anything other than necessary and clinical, but the warmth and reassurance and strength of Spears' touch. For once, he just wanted a break from the insanity of war, just wanted to let go knowing he was safe in the arms of the only man he'd ever loved. 

And that's what this feeling was--love; not only in the brotherly sense that happened between two people who'd been through as much as they had, but to be so deeply entrenched in another's heart that home was wherever they were. The sentiment was shared, he was sure it was, but the regs and uncertainty had always kept them at arm's length. 

Enough. 

They'd been stationed in the middle of fucking nowhere and, for the most part, operated almost entirely independent of command who couldn't be bothered with this shithole but had no problem dumping them here and letting the outpost fend for itself. Their tight-knit group had already bucked most of those traditional rules for new ones that actually made sense for their unique assignment, so what was one more? 

Grabbing a fistful of Spears' shirt, North tugged him forward and between his legs. To hell with regs and playing it safe. He'd almost killed Spears--had almost died by his hand--both surviving only thanks to Wilks' intervention. He wasn't about to waste this opportunity, and it was about damn time one of them spoke up before they were out of chances. 

Locked in the sights of that steel blue gaze, though, North's resolve melted when Spears didn't move. Had he misread everything? His heart sank further as Spears gently grabbed his wrists and lifted his hands off, and North averted his gaze. "Sorry, I--"

"You've got nothing to apologize for," Spears said, holding North's hands in his own, instead. "I'm the one that ordered them not to go after you. It's my fault this happened to you."

"You were just doin’ your job.”

Spears touched their foreheads together like they'd done so many other times before a mission. “Yeah, and I almost lost you.”

“The needs of the many–” North said, but Spears silenced him with a kiss before he could finish. While hardly more than a quick brush of lips, it stole North's breath away same as if it were one of those all-consuming kisses he'd never quite been able to imagine himself ever experiencing--certainly not something he could have with Spears.

Spears drew a shaky breath. "Do you have any idea how close I was to shooting you? If I hadn't hesitated..." 

The memory returned to him with unnerving clarity. He remembered feeling the gun barrel jab into his stomach, but fear of death wasn't his reaction. The whispers compelled him to kill. He'd only been able to fight them so much, and his body wouldn't obey what little bit of humanity he'd had left. They were even in a messed up way he wouldn't wish on anyone, and while it was easily to forgiven because of the circumstances, he doubted they'd forget any time soon.

"So what do we do now," North asked carefully, "about us?" Two men together wouldn't make anyone bat an eye--a commanding officer and his subordinate, on the other hand, would create problems if word made it to Spears' superiors.  

Turning, Spears slipped an arm around his waist and helped him down from the exam table. "How about we talk about that after getting you to a real bed?"

"Yours?" North teased. 

Spears blinked in surprise, and then huffed a laugh, eyes crinkling from that megawatt grin that always made North's heart stutter. "Anything you want." 

Oh, the things he wanted. For now, though, he was content with how things had turned out. If this too was a dream, he never wanted to wake.


End file.
